Uri Berlinerhttp://wnpr.org
enNuclear Deal Opens Up Potential For Investors In Iran's Stock Markethttp://wnpr.org/post/nuclear-deal-opens-potential-investors-irans-stock-market
Iran may not be fond of Western-style capitalism, but it has a stock market where shares in Iranian companies are traded.<p>And if sanctions are lifted following the nuclear deal, it could be where international investors road-test Iran's economy.<p>Earlier this week, just after <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/07/15/422878401/the-iranian-nuclear-deal-what-happens-next">the landmark deal</a> about the future of Iran's nuclear program had been announced, Radman Rabii in Teheran was excited about the future.<p>"I'm in my office.Fri, 17 Jul 2015 21:14:00 +0000Uri Berliner43862 at http://wnpr.orgNuclear Deal Opens Up Potential For Investors In Iran's Stock MarketESPN Brings Betting Talk To The Mainstreamhttp://wnpr.org/post/espn-brings-betting-talk-mainstream
Walk into a bar or spend some time in an airport and there's a good chance ESPN is on TV. What happens on its ever-present SportsCenter, airing live 18 times daily, resonates with sports fans around the country.Fri, 26 Jun 2015 21:43:00 +0000Uri Berliner42792 at http://wnpr.orgESPN Brings Betting Talk To The MainstreamWhy Wal-Mart Is Betting Big On Being Your Local Urban Grocerhttp://wnpr.org/post/why-wal-mart-betting-big-being-your-local-urban-grocer
Wal-Mart made its name by going big: massive super centers with gallon jars of pickles and rows and rows of lawn chairs and tires.<p>Its future may depend a lot on going small. It's investing in smaller stores in densely populated urban neighborhoods, where customers buy fewer items at a time.<p>Customers like Donna Thomas, who walked over to a Wal-Mart near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on her lunch break from her job as an executive assistant at Comcast.<p>"I got a rotissierie chicken, and a card and my prescription," Thomas says.Sat, 04 Apr 2015 11:33:00 +0000Uri Berliner38522 at http://wnpr.orgWhy Wal-Mart Is Betting Big On Being Your Local Urban GrocerEven Pickaxes Couldn't Stop The Nation's First Oil Pipelinehttp://wnpr.org/post/even-pickaxes-couldnt-stop-nations-first-oil-pipeline
One-hundred-fifty years ago, a man named Samuel Van Syckel built the nation's first commercial oil pipeline in the rugged terrain of northwestern Pennsylvania.<p>His pipeline transformed how oil is transported — and it would change the modern world, too — but not before a battle that makes the debate over the Keystone XL pipeline look meek by comparison.<p>In January 1865, the place where this all happened, called Pithole, was nowhere, really — just a patch of wilderness in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.Wed, 25 Feb 2015 01:20:00 +0000Uri Berliner36540 at http://wnpr.orgEven Pickaxes Couldn't Stop The Nation's First Oil PipelineFor Long-Haul Drivers, Cheap Gas Means A Sweeter Commutehttp://wnpr.org/post/long-haul-drivers-cheap-gas-means-sweeter-commute
With wages still stuck for many Americans, the big drop in gasoline prices is the equivalent of an unexpected cash bonus for the nation's drivers.<p>The average American household is expected to save $750 this year from lower gas prices, <a href="http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2013cpr/chap1.htm" target="_blank">according to the Energy Department</a>.<p>But Thomas Kinnaman, an economist at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., says it's instructive to look beyond the word "average."<p>"It's not that we're not all average families — we're not average drivers," he says.Thu, 29 Jan 2015 09:14:00 +0000Uri Berliner35129 at http://wnpr.orgFor Long-Haul Drivers, Cheap Gas Means A Sweeter CommuteHere's Why Retailers Keep Sending You Catalogshttp://wnpr.org/post/heres-why-retailers-keep-sending-you-catalogs
Many things made with paper have become relics because of computers and the Internet: the Rolodex, multivolume encyclopedias, even physical maps.<p>Now take a look in your mailbox or somewhere around your house. There's a good chance you'll see a shopping catalog, maybe a few of them now that it's the holiday season.<p>"I ignore them," says Rick Narad, a professor at California State University, Chico. "I get them in the mail sometimes, and they don't make it into the house.Thu, 11 Dec 2014 12:41:00 +0000Uri Berliner32697 at http://wnpr.orgHere's Why Retailers Keep Sending You CatalogsIn South Carolina, A Program That Makes Apprenticeships Workhttp://wnpr.org/post/south-carolina-program-makes-apprenticeships-work
Several years ago, South Carolina had a problem: a shortage of skilled workers and no good way to train young people for the workforce. So at a time when apprenticeship programs were in decline in the U.S., the state started a program called Apprenticeship Carolina.<p>"We were really, really squarely well-positioned at the bottom," says Brad Neese, the program's director.<p>From the beginning, South Carolina took apprenticeship beyond the building trades — that's the traditional route for apprentices — to fields like nursing, pharmacy and IT.Thu, 06 Nov 2014 08:24:00 +0000Uri Berliner30988 at http://wnpr.orgIn South Carolina, A Program That Makes Apprenticeships WorkWhy Are Men Leaving The American Workforce?http://wnpr.org/post/why-are-men-leaving-american-workforce
There's a long, unfolding story about work in America that often gets overlooked. It's the story of men opting out of work altogether. These are men who have vanished from the labor force — men who don't have a job and aren't looking for one.<p>To describe this historic development with the context it deserves, we start with the American economy after World War II. It was firing on all cylinders, dominant globally, confident and dynamic. It was a great time to be an American man in the workplace. Hiring was strong for white-collar jobs and factory work.Mon, 11 Aug 2014 20:14:00 +0000Uri Berliner26789 at http://wnpr.orgWhy Are Men Leaving The American Workforce?From Coffee Futures To Bulk Buying: A Year Of Adventurous Investinghttp://wnpr.org/post/coffee-futures-bulk-buying-year-adventurous-investing
<em>A year ago, NPR's Uri Berliner decided to take his money out of a savings account that was losing value to inflation and turn it loose in an investing adventure. A <a href="http://www.npr.org/series/187092877/dollar-for-dollar-adventures-in-uncommon-investments" target="_blank">series of stories in 2013</a> described his newly acquired assets and sought to shed light on how the markets for them worked.</em><p>I had up to $5,000 of savings I was willing to risk. I ended up investing around $3,600.Fri, 06 Jun 2014 07:46:00 +0000Uri Berliner23167 at http://wnpr.orgFrom Coffee Futures To Bulk Buying: A Year Of Adventurous InvestingWhy You Won't Win Warren Buffett's Billion-Dollar Brackethttp://wnpr.org/post/why-you-wont-win-warren-buffets-billion-dollar-bracket
<p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq_K5Hg8TrM</p>Sat, 15 Mar 2014 15:05:00 +0000Uri Berliner18484 at http://wnpr.orgWhy You Won't Win Warren Buffett's Billion-Dollar BracketTired Of Doom And Gloom? Here's The Best Good News Of 2013http://wnpr.org/post/tired-doom-and-gloom-heres-best-good-news-2013
Being a news consumer means you're constantly on the receiving end of bad news. War, unemployment, crime, political dysfunction — it can be enough to make you think we humans aren't doing <em>anything</em> right. But good news: We are. As the year draws to an end, here's a look at a few areas of real progress in the U.S. and around the world.<p><strong>Air Safety</strong><strong></strong><p>Let's start with flying. It's not a lot of fun: baggage fees, pat-downs, cramped seating, disappointing snacks.<p>But the odds are remarkably good you will land safely.Tue, 24 Dec 2013 07:57:00 +0000Uri Berliner14438 at http://wnpr.orgTired Of Doom And Gloom? Here's The Best Good News Of 2013Crippled By Sanctions, Iran's Economy Key In Nuclear Dealhttp://wnpr.org/post/crippled-sanctions-irans-economy-key-nuclear-deal
Some of the sanctions against Iran will be eased under an <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/23/246954418/reports-deal-reached-to-limit-iran-s-nuclear-program">agreement reached</a> between Iran and six world powers over the weekend. In return, Iran promises to temporarily curb part of its nuclear program.<p>There's widespread agreement that sanctions have worked, squeezing Iran financially and bringing its leaders to the negotiating table.Mon, 25 Nov 2013 07:52:00 +0000Uri Berliner12939 at http://wnpr.orgCrippled By Sanctions, Iran's Economy Key In Nuclear DealThe Roots Of Franchising Took Hold In A Hair Salon Chainhttp://wnpr.org/post/roots-franchising-took-hold-hair-salon-chain
<em>We have been reporting for several weeks now on </em><a href="http://www.npr.org/series/235557499/ddd">small businesses in America</a>.<em> Today, we explore a business system where entrepreneurs and corporations come together: franchising. Franchising is a bit like marriage. It takes a good long-term relationship to succeed.</em><p>It makes sense to begin a story about franchising and the hairstyling business by looking to Martha Matilda Harper, a servant living in Rochester, N.Y., in the late 19th century. In her spare time, she developed a special hair tonic. The tonic sold well.Thu, 17 Oct 2013 07:05:00 +0000Uri Berliner9675 at http://wnpr.orgThe Roots Of Franchising Took Hold In A Hair Salon Chain